Absolute Zero
by Don'tMurderTheWords
Summary: Absolute Zero is the lowest temperature scientists have ever calculated that can be generated by nature. Being left alone is like absolute zero. Cold and lonely. Will Athena and Percy's love survive? or will they be separated forever in absolute zero?
1. Tears and Fears of a Goddess

**A/N: Hello! My first fanfic so, don't be surprise if it sucks. Depending on your taste though.**

**I would like to thank the following:**

**x oneoftheboys: for her unending support (and somewhat beta-ing, of course)**

**TheSteeledBlade: for some random things.**

**Story: Absolute Zero is the lowest temperature scientists have ever calculated that can be generated by nature. Being left alone is like absolute zero. Cold and lonely. Will Athena and Percy's love survive? or will they be separated forever in absolute zero?**

**Warning: Rated T for language and suggestive content in later chapter/s. If you're against OOCness, then, OUT OF HERE! THIS IS NO PLACE FOR YOU!**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own. Is. The. Plot.**

**Pairing: Percathena**

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**Chapter I: The Tears and Fears of a Goddess**

She was crying. On the bed. In a large, dark room. Listening to the patter of rain on the slate roof. The radio turned at a low volume. Dressed in gray T-shirt and jeans. Her hair unkempt. The mattress was a mess around her. The whole room was full of broken objects. Broken pieces of vases worth hundreds of dollars and furniture worth more than that littered the floor. The table was upturned and the chair on its side. The window was broken. The curtain was flying in the wind. The piano was missing some keys. Mess on the floor. A mixture of food and filth. The shrapnel of the window jutting out the carpet. The flowers lay wilting on the floor.

She was crying so hard and long the pillow was soaked through. Golden blood, Ichor, stained and was still staining the sheets(a goddess turned emo?). She was like this for several weeks now, not moving a single muscle. Many mortals had been hammering her door, having heard her screams during the first few weeks. They thought they were just showing concern to a fellow neighbor. They didn't know that they were dealing with a heartbroken goddess.

All she could feel was pain and hurt. She doesn't remember ever feeling this kind of pain and hurt. Not even when her dear Frederick was married to THAT (emphasis on THAT) woman. But now, she feels this pain. Pain so intense she would gladly die than feel this. Hurt so inescapable, she felt like she was drowning in it. Everywhere she looked, she was reminded of him. Whatever she thought she remembered him.

She was holding-no, clutching-a picture frame. In it was their picture. It was ripped in the middle. Scotch tape clumsily held it together.

She looked into the picture. Into that beautiful face. Into those enticing sea-green eyes. Into those entrancing lips. The cute nose. The gravity-defying hair. Those cheekbones. That well-sculpted body. Into those strong arms. As she looked into those sea-green eyes, a wave of guilt swept over her. It flooded through her veins like blood. It clung to every corner of her mind. It spun its never-ending web in all her thoughts. It changed her perspective of her memories. It altered her world completely. It gave her reason to fade.

She knew she was fading. She could feel it. Either a week or days to go. It was near. Her end was coming. And she would gladly die if it made her precious happy. If her death would bring him his joy.

She thought about making a goodbye letter. Or perhaps putting her last ounces of her power into making something unique, something the world could remember her by. Or maybe she could put her last remaining strength in saying goodbye. To whom? To her daughter? Her blood boiled at the very thought of her daughter.

No, she knew it would double the pain she was feeling if she said goodbye to her daughter. (selfish part kicks in)And it would double the pain her daughter would feel if she faded without her knowing it.

She felt another part of her fall apart. This was the curse of being a goddess. Her senses were acute and sensitive. Once she started to fade, she would feel every part of her that faded. And that hurt a lot more.

However, she knew that there was no worse pain than Percy leaving her. Even though she knew that Percy was just mortal and that he would sooner or later leave her, she still wanted to spend time with Percy.

Percy was her life. Her joy. Her love. And now… He had left her. Why? It was her fault. She knew it was. The way she had treated him. The way she talked behind his back.

She didn't know why she treated him like that. Whatever the effort she put into trying to find the reason why, she couldn't find it. Maybe it was her pride. This was her fatal flaw. She couldn't admit that she had hopelessly and helplessly fallen in love with a mortal. Much less the son of the bane of her existence, (*Ahem!* Don't be angry at me, Uncle! XD) Poseidon. Even much less the person she claims not to like for her daughter. Whatever the reason was, she did not know.

And now, she was terrified. Absolutely, downright terrified. In fact, she was too terrified to be terrified. (Does that make any sense?) Her worst fears had been confirmed.

A certain goddess had visited her. To torment her. To incapacitate her. To destroy her. With the fact (fact because that certain goddess had force-fed images into her mind) that her beloved was living with that certain goddess (emphasis on 'certain goddess'). Her blood boiled at the very memory of that certain goddess. It gave her a reason to continue living. To tear that goddess limb for limb. To crush that goddess like a bug. To squash the life out of her. Like juicing a lemon. She wanted it so badly even though, she knew that that certain goddess would just come back later worse than ever. T least she had got her revenge.

"That bitch. That slut. That whore." She thought to herself.

That certain goddess was none other than the most unfaithful Olympian goddess. The disloyal wife of Hephaestus, the God of Fire, her brother. The consort of the God of War, Ares, her brother (again). The mother of Eros, the God of Love. The last child of Ouranos. Technically, her great-aunt. This goddess (if you haven't guessed yet 8-|) is the Goddess of Love, herself, "Aphrodite." she said.

She said her name like a curse. Like something dirty. Like something that came out of Tartarus. Her blood was well past boiling point now. She could almost feel steam coming from out of her ears. Such rage.

No, it wasn't rage. It was wrath. Unholy wrath. She had never felt such kind of wrath before. Not even when her beloved Frederick was married to THAT woman. Not even when one of her children were deliberately hurt. Not even in the last Titanomachy. Not even when Zeus had forbidden her to stay in Olympus to stay on his side. Such unholy, fierce wrath. Flaming and flaring hot. This must be what it feels like to be Ares. To be angry all the time. She didn't even know she was capable of such wrath.

Her senses were momentarily heightened. The pain dulled Her powers returning. Her wounds healing. Her brain focusing on getting revenge. Her mind was already thinking of ways she could get even with Aphrodite. Of ways of her revenge. She could already see plans, detailed ones, of her sweet come back.

But, it was unclear. As if viewed through a window.

She knew why. It was because some part of her rebelled against revenge. Some part of her did not want to get even with the Goddess of Love. Some part of her did not want to make a come back. Some part of her just rallied on letting it go. This part of her, she thought, was that part that mourned her loss of Percy the most. But, why? Why would this part of her go against her wishes? Shouldn't this part of her be the first one to think of plans of revenge? Shouldn't this part jump at the golden opportunity? Shouldn't this part, the part that Aphrodite hurt the most, be the first one to rebel?

Then it hit her. Even if she did get her vengeance, it would change nothing. Percy would not come back to her. From what she saw, Percy would even hate her more if she revenged herself.

No. She was thinking irrationally. She was thinking like a mortal. She was thinking like she was without wisdom. She was thinking like she was not a goddess. She was thinking as if this had not happened to her already. As if she didn't experience losing a lover (lol. Lover? What lover?) As if the pain was not ordinary.

But the pain was NOT ordinary. She had never before, in her extremely long life, felt this kind of pain. Not in all he lovers. Not in all her separations. Not even when one of her children died.

She knew this was because she had fallen in love. Fallen so deeply, she felt like she was flying. (For a moment there, while reminiscing being in love, she forgot her pain) She fell deeper than Tartarus itself.

She knew because she had seen mortals like this before. She had seen their hearts break(She had even broken some of those.). She saw how love dulled their wisdom and made them devoid of sense. She even felt some of their pain. And now, she was feeling that, too because she had fallen. Fallen for that trap which she swore never to.

But how? She had sworn and made vows never to be ensnared by love. She had protected herself against it or so she believes. It seems it wasn't enough. Love had come trespassing into her world without her knowing it, catching her off-guard. Her defenses had crumbled. The broken locks were a warning. Percy had got inside her head. She tried her best to be guarded; she's an open book instead.

And now, she was feeling the result of that love. She was feeling the pain of being left. The pain of being alone.

This was the curse of immortality. It overrode invulnerability. This was the curse of being a goddess. She would feel every bit of pain and she would be helpless against it. She concluded that this was the price of her bows of being forever chaste. She would one day break them and, when she did, she would be hopeless and helpless.

This knowledge brought a new wave of depression over her. This knowledge or conclusion gave her even greater hurt.

She could not take it. She could not bear it. This had to end. Then, she was suddenly tired, very tired. This kind of tiredness never came to her. Not even in the lowest point of her very long life. She felt as if the cares of the centuries of being on this earth had finally got to her.

She felt sleepy for the first time in her long (looooooooooooooooooooooo…ng) life. As a goddess, she didn't need sleep. She could take the energy she needed from her surroundings. The God of Slumber was a minor god. He had no powers over the 12 Olympians.

Was she already this weak? Even a minor god had powers over her? Even Hypnos could induce sleep within her?

Slumber was a whole new experience for her. She was going to sleep for the first time. She wondered what it would feel like. She often studied mortals who were sleeping. Sometimes, even connecting her mind to a sleeping mortal (even a lover? XD) just to know what it feels like, how it happens, why it happens. But she never succeeded in fully connecting her mind. The mortal subconscious was far more powerful than a goddesses' conscious. Mortals underestimate the power of their subconscious. They say that it's only a big part of their mind. They say that it can allow them to do amazing things. But only 'till that. What they didn't know is that a mortals' subconscious is too powerful for a goddesses' conscious. She would only be able to connect her mind to some random parts of the conscious but not to the subconscious. It would crush her. Once, she tried, not only did it fail, but it put her life in danger. She had never attempted that again. (lol. From heartbeaks to experiments? Wth?)

She was glad. This signaled that she was near the end. Almost fading. Her body had taken one last shot at living. Her body had tried to recharge her energies. But, she made sure that when she woke up, her energies would be more lessened. That she would fade. At least, it would end the pain and the hurt. And maybe… just maybe… Percy would…

She looked into the picture again. She hugged it and closed her eyes. She fell both willingly and unwillingly into sleep. Right before she fell asleep, she heard a song from the radio that made the pain she was feeling a whole lot worse.

"It's a quarter after one,

I'm all alone

And I need you now

Said I wouldn't call

But I've lost all control

And I need you now

And I don't know how

I could do without,

I just need you now."

And Athena fell into a deep, uneasy sleep. One full of bad dreams, nightmares, and heartaches.

~oOo~

Meanwhile, somewhere on Olympus…

"PLEASE! Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease? With icing, syrup, sprinkles and cherry on top?" the Goddess of Love pleaded in the most seductive voice she could muster.

"For the LAST time, Lady Aphrodite, NO! Big, bold, EN-OH! I am NOT going into your house. I am NOT going to lose my virginity with you! (*blush!*)" some onlookers giggle at this point. "I will stay faithful no matter what! Now, PLEASE, leave me alone!" was the reply. Aphrodite stalked away, obviously very angry and with vengeance in her heart (She has a heart? OMG!)

"Thank Zeus she finally left me, I was about to give in. (XD)" Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.

"Peace, man!" Percy said.

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**A/N: Sorry for the side comments, I couldn't resist. :D**

**BTW: If you can guess the song reference (not Need You Now), pm me and you get a place in the third chapter! :D**

**BTW2: Thanks for reading!**

**I'm kinda ambitious 'coz I'm turning this into a series. But hey, who cares?**

**PLEASE r&r! Flames tolerated but, do it with DIGNITY! No, Ram, not the ones you eat.**

**Absolute Zero: The Wicked Witch is now up!**

**That's all for now, see ya!**


	2. The Wicked Witch

**A/N: Well, hello! I'm back! I kinda got annoyed with my favorite authors for not updating, sooo, I will, instead.**

**Special Mentions: the ghost king, Riley Coyote, and PercyxArtemis for at least taking the effort to review my first fic and give me enough inspiration to continue.**

**Warning: Rated T for language only, now. I decided to edit out the *cough* suggestive parts. They were worth an M. Aphrodite is OOC. You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I. Own. No. PJO. Except. The. Plot.**

**Pairing: Percathena**

**Enjoy!**

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"THAT DID NOT HAPPEN!" Aphrodite said as soon as she arrived in her five-story, pillared home.

The ceiling was high, almost as if it opened to the space beyond. A diamond-encrusted chandelier hung from above, illuminating the whole area. Pink, red, and purple draperies hung from the ceiling, adding to the seductive aura of the spacious living room. The air was heavy with perfume. It changed, depending on what her mood was or what she thought smelled fragrant (and right now, it smelled of ocean breeze). The pillars that held up her home were made of pure white marble, at least, today. Tomorrow, maybe it would become green granite or rocky cement, or even colorful gemstones. She didn't know and she didn't want to know at the moment.

"Would YOU believe IT?" she screamed to her son, Eros. "I AM the frickin' Goddess of Love and HE SAID NO to ME?" The house was almost shaking at its foundations.

"Who did?" Eros asked.

"Percy…" she said in the sweetest and most angelic voice she had and with a faraway look in her eyes, "said NO to me!" the anger returning, "Imagine? I used all my most powerful enchantments and he said fucking NO? I, the Goddess of Love, have been said no to? Many men consider it their life's goal to even just to have a look at my shadow. But, he? I was the fucking one to come to him, to beg him, to kneel before him, and he has the fucking nerve to say no? And to top it all off, there were a lot of people! They witnessed my humiliation! They saw how, I, the Goddess of Love, was rejected! They were even laughing! They were even happy at my misery! THIS cannot be happening to me!" the angry Goddess said.

"You say that many men desire you, why not go to those men, instead? Why not choose them over someone who obviously does not like you?" her son replied in a flat tone.

"Because I obviously don't like them, you sad excuse for a son!" the Goddess replied, obviously offended, "and besides, I am NOT a slut or a bitch to just go around and get somebody!" answered Aphrodite.

"Nevertheless, if you liked one of them, you would go for them, right? No matter what the consequences are?" his son shot back.

"Well, of course! But-" Aphrodite answered, taken aback.

"And besides, you were the one who told me to use my strongest arrows on Athena and Percy for your silly revenge on the Wise Goddess!" her son replied.

"SHH! Quiet down, dolt! Somebody might hear you! Yes, I admit, I was the one who told you to do that for my revenge but, you didn't tell me these would be the effects!"

"Don't you even dare try pinning the blame on me! You masterminded this, after all! I'm just an accomplice!"

"I SAID, QUIET DOWN!" the Goddess screamed. "Fine! I AM the mastermind of this whole plan! So? Sue me! At least, this shows that I control their hearts! That I still pwn them! All I'm saying is that I didn't know that I'd be affected, too! Happy now?" Aphrodite said, panting.

"Not particularly." Eros sniffed.

"There has to be retribution. This can NOT go unnoticed. There HAS to be revenge! Perseus Jackson shall pay!" the angry Love Goddess said with an evil gleam in her eye.

"And what do you plan to do with the poor, helpless Perseus Jackson?" asked Eros in a mildly interested tone.

"I think it's time to pay a visit to my great niece, Athena," she said the name like a curse word, "I'm sure by now, she must be the point of totally fading. I'm sure, too, that she's angry (angry? She's wrathful, gal :D) at me for the fake images I force-fed her last time. Heh, she'll be totally helpless."

"But-" Eros interjected.

*Boing! Great idea!*"Ooooh! I'll force-feed new images to her! This time with impressions! And more lurid positions, too! (*pukes*)" Aphrodite said.

"But how will that get you revenge against Percy?" Eros asked.

"Easy. This is where you come in, my dear son." Aphrodite replied. "You will send him an IM showing our conversation. I, in turn, will show my dear niece some totally lurid images (when she says totally, she really means 'more than totally') I am sure that those IMAGES will override the arrows effects AND she will be disgusted by them. I can imagine her saying, 'I canNOT imagine Percy doing that! He disgusts me! Go ahead. He's all yours!' Percy will see my whole visit, except for the images, of course. He will then be heartbroken and come to me on his knees begging me. I, in all my mercy, shall take him and strip him of his virginity! *blush* That worked last time right?"

"It will be like hitting two birds with one stone!" the Love Goddess lounges on the couch.

"Why don't you IM him yourself?" Eros burst out.

"BECAUSE, my DEAR son, that would be like leaving evidence with ALL of your fucking fingerprints on it! Iris is close with Hermes and Hermes is close to Percy! Percy's not dumb! He'll know that the message is fake if it comes from me!" she says.

"FINE! What will I get if I join your scheme?" he said.

"What? You mean you're still expecting something in return? Can't you do this as a favor to your mom, instead?" she says.

"It's in the genes, MOM! Expecting something in return…" Eros trails off.

Aphrodite's expression softens. "Fine. You'll get that fertility potion. For your dear," she belchs, "beloved Psyche. Happy now?" she says.

"Maybe." he replies after a moment.

"Well. I guess it's time to put this plan into action! Tata! Laters!" she disappears in a puff of pinkish smoke.

"See? That's how evil my beloved mother is." Eros says in a flat tone to nobody in particular.

A puff of green smoke appears and when it clears, reveals the God of thieves and travelers, Hermes.

"Perseus will not be happy about this." Hermes says.

"Uh-huh"

"Thank you for the info, son."

"No prob."

"I HAVE to tell this to Percy!" Hermes disappears.

"*sigh!* Better get on with this work." Eros said obviously tired. "O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering…"

~oOo~

Meanwhile, in Zeus temple

"I didn't know they made temples this big. I'll be having a hard time cleaning this one." Percy said.

So he set about to clean the huge white temple. There were marble pillars lined either side of the circular interior. The ceiling was domed and so high. Too high for a temple of the Lord of the Sky. The floor was made of purest white marble. The walls were of black onyx. The doors were made of a heavy wooden material Percy couldn't identify. The doorknob was made of silver, shaped like Zeus' lightning bolt. The knocker (as if anybody would dare knock here) was also of silver, inlaid with gold.

At the opposite end of the temple was a HUGE (emphasis on HUGE) statue of Zeus. Probably the largest Percy had seen. As with all the Grecian statues he so far saw, this one was painted so life-like that it seemed to be real. Like in the throne room of Olympus. It depicted Zeus on a throne of clouds, position like The Thinker, wearing a Greek toga and a laurel wreath.

'Well, maybe I've now found the lost statue of Zeus.' Percy thinks to himself.

In front of the statue was a circle of stones. In the middle sat a small mound of burnt leaves and spices that was still emitting smoke. The smell was delicious and fragrant. He detected ambrosia. He smelled as much as he could. Greedily taking all the scents.

He wondered what the perfume was made of and went close, intending to poke the mound with the handle of his mop. He was thinking how sweet it would smell on Athena. Then, it hit him. He was here for Athena herself. So they would have a happily-forever-after. And that his job was to clean and nothing else. As Hera had so wisely chosen to warn him.

He shook himself mentally for forgetting the very reason he was here and resolved never to forget again. He started cleaning. Then, stopped.

"Hello, is someone there?" (how cliché, Percy. As if the bad guy's goin' to reply, "I'm here! I'm gonna scare you silly! Hear me? Fear me!" =)) ) He said after thinking he swathe glint of a blue eye.

'Maybe I was imaging things. Maybe I've had too much work for the day. Especially after that bitch of a temple Hera has.' He thought to himself and went back to cleaning.

He saw that glint again.

'This is getting creepier by the moment, like some cheap horror movie,' he thought to himself and carefully went back to work but, this time observing his surroundings.

Another glimpse.

'I swear on Gabe's smelly socks, I didn't imagine that! Someone IS here! But who?' he decided to investigate.

"Lord Zeus? Are you there? Is anybody there?" Percy called going to the entrance.

He heard a noise behind his back that sent tingles to his spine. He turned and saw nothing.

Cautiously, he walked toward the middle of the domed temple. He saw movement somewhere to his right. He reacted to so fast he cricked his neck.

Cursing, he set down his mop and massaged his neck.

BANG!

The doors closed behind him suddenly and made a loud banging noise that scared ten years worth out of him.

Another glimpse. This time, to his left. His heart was pounding now. Beating its way to his throat.

'Olympus has no ghosts doesn't it? Besides, ghosts can't touch things. Unless…' he thought.

He took deep calming breaths, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. He noticed a scent that he had not smelt before. He pushed it out of his mind. It must be the perfume.

Everything was so quiet now. Peaceful.

'Like the calm before the storm.' he thought. He pushed that idea out of his mind.

He turned to face the statue of Zeus. And saw light streaming behind it. He went closer to the source and saw where the light was coming from.

On the floor was a marble trapdoor, lined with silver and a single silver handle. He opened the trapdoor and found an underground room even larger than the temple.

The light was extinguished as soon as he opened the door. There was a silver ladder by the side. He went inside the room.

As soon as his feet hit the floor, he gasped. The room was HUUUUUGE! Incomparable to all possible cellars. But it was fully-furnished. Bed, chairs, mini-bar, you name it, all colored white. 'Looks like an underground mansion.' He thought to himself.

"Wait, I have to clean this too?" he said out loud.

"You don't have to," said a deep rumbling voice.

He literally jumped. Feet leaving the floor. He recognized the voice. That voice belonged to-

"Lord Zeus" he said.

"You looked so funny upstairs." the Sky God said, hungrily and dirtily eyeing the youth.

"That was you!" Percy said incredulously.

"Yes. I loved it when you cricked your neck," came the reply.

Zeus licked his lips, eyeing the young demigod as if a predator would his prey, and pounced.

Percy was expecting what Zeus was going to do. Those dirty looks? Heh. Even a baby would recognize malice written all over that century-old face.

He side-stepped Zeus' attack. Quickly reaching over to the ladder, he hurriedly went up. Zeus caught his foot. He kicked the King of the Gods on the face, hard, Percy-style. 'I maybe a demigod but, I carried all the heavens for a few minutes,' he thought, remembering the grey highlights in his hair.

He managed to get up without being caught. As soon as he hauled himself out of the trapdoor, he stood and came face to face with Zeus himself. With a squashed nose, of course.

He pushed with all his might but, Zeus wouldn't budge. Instead, the God squeezed his arms and lifted him up like he was no heavier than a feather.

Percy turned and ran like Hades. He kept running and didn't stop. He got tired and did, however. Thinking he was far away, he raised his head to see where he was. His eyes widened in shock when he discovered he was still inside the temple.

"Goin' somewhere?" Zeus said, holding on to the back of his shirt.

He pushed with all his might and ran fleetingly fast. Ripping his own camp shirt in the process. Amazingly, he was free.

"Why, you!" Zeus said angrily. Catching up with Percy. Percy on the other hand was halfway through the temple and jumped the circle of stones in the middle. Zeus, on the other hand, didn't notice the motley collection and slipped on the stones, scattering the mound of spices.

"ARGH!" Percy heard behind his back. "MY EYE!" Zeus roared thunderously, shaking the whole temple.

Percy reached the doors unharmed but, shirtless and shivering. He slams the doors and hears Zeus say, "You will PAY, Perseus Jackson! You WILL PAY!"

Percy runs down the steps, whooping at his freedom. He stumbles on the last step and comes crashing down on someone's chest.

Incredibly, he is not hurt, but instead, bounces and lands on his butt on the rocky path.

He looks up and when he realizes who it was he just crashed into, his jaw drops open.

~oOo~

Back on Earth.

A certain goddess is on the bed looking deathly pale and translucent.

'I can feel it. The darkness of death,' she thinks.

She thought dying would be painful. That it would hurt so much. Strangely, it felt peaceful and quiet as if the Grim Reaper or Thanatos was welcoming her into its (or his) arms.

"Aah. Fare thee well, mine beloved," she looks into the picture of a sea-green-eyed nineteen-year-old.

And the Wise Goddess fades into nothingness.

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**A/N: Well? How was it? Good or good? :)) I do try to put as much suspense as possible. Review and tell me if it works. :D Plus, I've finished writing the story. Just have to type it now. :D**

**BTW: I guess nobody guessed the reference (Broken - Lifehouse) somewhere here: _The broken locks were a warning. Percy had got inside her head. She tried her best to be guarded; she's an open book instead._ I kinda edited some pronouns but the message's still there right?**  
**PM me if you wanna be part of the next and final chapter. :D (Mean character, anyone?)**

**BTW2: Please excuse the side comments. I do my very best not to add one every few words.**

**Thanks for reading! And r&r, okie? Flames are tolerated, but do it with dignity. (Dignities, if your wondering, is doughnuts. So, basically, I eat dignity :D Please, if you have one, give. Thanks! :P)**

**PS: if anyone named Airei Guanga is reading this, please be informed that I am missing you like hell. Come back here NOW!**

**PS2: If you're wondering, the wicked witch is Aphrodite. Wanna know why? Read the final chapter! coming soon! :D**

**Next and final chapter still to be named. :D (suggestions, anyone?:D)**

**Thanks for reading! That's all, folks! See you!**


	3. The Reason For My Existance

Hey There! I feel I owe you guys an update so, here's one

Subtitle: A Taste of What's to Come

Enjoy!

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Flashing lights. Policemen running around. A crowd of people gawking. Chalk marks on the ground. Police Line Do Not Cross all around a 10 meter radius. Skid marks. Blood. All the elements of a hit-and-run crime.

This is the scene that refused to register in Athena's mind. These are the things that were never really processed. Things that she couldn't comprehend.

A white room. People in white. The most horrible of monsters. Of these, the one she found most frightening was the zombified corpse of Percy. Mindless and emotionless. Not a care for who was facing him. This is Athena's worst nightmare.

And she was living it everyday.

Somewhere a certain Goddess of Love was lying in bed. Thinking about the completion of her plan. This was it. Her revenge. Oh, how sweet it could be. She was not thinking of the consequences of her actions. That they will eventually rebound to her.

A guilt-tripped King of the Gods rethinks his actions. He did not mean to kill Percy. Or was he dead already? He must know. So he set off to the one place where all the dead and few of the living dare go. Hades.

Dreams. Soothing dreams about the sea. He dreamed about his father's underwater palace. Of shells and anemones. Of water currents and all such ocean-related things. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had to wake up. He had to.

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**A/N:** Yep, there you go folks. Short as short. Hope you enjoyed. And yes I did say this was supposed to be the last chapter but, I can change my mind, right?

R&R, please. Flames are tolerated. They will be used to make delicious brownies. And pizza. Don't forget pizza

See you around :D


	4. The Story Continues

Hey there! Here's an update! Enjoy!

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"You ARE in there AND you WILL come OUT to MEET ME! YOU are NEVER too busy for your OWN brother!" the Z-god said

"But he really isn't here!" Nico insisted.

"Get away, runt." He waved a contemptuous hand and sent the kid-in-black to somewhere in Seattle. Another wave and the visitor gates of the Underworld opened.

He had always been jealous of his brother. In more ways than he could care to count in his many-centuried hands, Hades was more powerful than him. Even though he was the father of Melinoe, he had to disguise himself as Hades in order to seduce one of the most beautiful women that ever stalked the earth. Hades had, in his command, the jewels under the earth. The many millennia of the dead were under his control. He had cheated when they cast lots to know who had gotten which kingdom. He somehow knew that the surplus of the dead would disable those amazing powers and he would rule. But that had not been enough. Hades had produced the most powerful of offsprings.

Even now, walking through his brother's palace, he felt the pangs of deep-rooted envy in his spirit. The palace was of a different kind of mystique. Its grandeur was unparalleled. Hades had obviously put forth all his effort to build this kind of palatial home. In place of flowers, jewels stalked the grounds. The palace itself was inlaid with many precious metals. It was huge. Whatever Hades didn't have, he made it up in grandeur.

He walked to the throne room. There sat Hades observing the fire.

"What a way to arrive. You send my son to the Hydra and walk in my home like nothing happened just a few hours ago. Tell me, have you ever been to theatrics?

"What precisely happened a few hours ago?" came the short retort.

Hades' gaze was unnerving. His eyes held that sort of malicious power. As if he knew something Zeus didn't. "We both know what happened. You tried to kill the hero who saved Olympus."

"You talk of concern as if you have known any," shot back the Z-god.

The fire in his eyes was teetering now. Zeus could sense it. Having no witty response, Hades opted for the direct-to-the-point approach. "You came here to know whether the boy is alive or not."

Zeus said nothing, neither confirming nor denying, though Hades was smart enough to know why his brother was here.

"That I cannot tell you. I, myself, don't know."

"Liar. You are supposed to be the god of the Undeworld. You should know who enters and leaves your realm."

"And you should know who uses your airwaves and disobeys your orders."

"Don't change the subject. This is about you being irresponsible. If you continue like this, I may have to demote you." He left Hades fuming.

Of course he didn't have the right to demote Hades. Nor the power. It was just a bluff to get him on his feet and plotting. He had risked another civil war. That was a price to pay.

'It's so hard to be the King of the Gods.'

~oOo~

Perhaps a recap would prove to be vital to your understanding of the storyline. And what better way to see the events than in the person who witnessed them all?

Annabeth's POV

The day was frustrating enough without spiders getting on her nerves. Literally.

What literal nerves, you say? She had a wound at the shoulder blades from fighting a weird dog-like monster even she didn't care to know the name. The monster's talons/nails had unfortunately made contact with her skin, leaving a wound that would not heal. Then the metallic spider had come from nowhere and lost battery right at the spot above her wound. Since it was metallic, it had no ability to spin webs and was just flying around. She was hunched back and the spider had landed right on the middle of her gash. She had screamed so hard the spider cracked in two and the hair on her arms stood on end. Chiron said the wound would begin to heal a few days from now and she was to take a rest.

But that wasn't the worst part of the day. She could resist and endure all physical suffering but not emotional ones. She hated it. Absolutely the worst. Maybe spiders the size of garbage bin lids came in close second. Scratch that. Spiders came first. Period.

She replayed the events of the past few days in her mind. *Enter shimmering edges* *Flashback mode in colored*

She was strolling along, just letting her feet take her where it would. She planned on going to Percy and apologizing to him for how she had broken his heart. It wasn't her fault. She had only been forced to do that. By none other than Aphrodite herself. The wicked witch. What was at stake? Her mother's shield. The one that had given so much honor and glory to Athens and her mother. She didn't know, then, that her mother and soon-to-be-real-ex were an item. All she knew that she had to get to Percy. The wind had told her that her mom held the answer to where she wanted to go.

She found herself near her mom's secret apartment. She had known this place years ago when she first found out that she was a demigod. She was about to turn around the corner to look inside the apartment when a shimmering pink figure appeared in the 1st floor window. The figure seemed shocked for a moment (Kinesics were one of her strengths) She could tell that this shimmering pink figure was not human at all. And that the figure was invisible to the mortal eyes.

The figure moved away from the window. Annabeth waited for several minutes. Nothing happened. She counted slowly to ten and decided to enter the building. Before she could, though, a green light appeared right in front of her and spat out Percy. The hero took a while to regain his bearings and then, immediately crossed the street. The next few things happened so fast she didn't know how to properly process it until the next few hours.

First came the scream. She recognized the voice of her mother. Instinctively, she looked toward the source of the scream. At the corner of her eyes she saw a white Hummer appear out of thin air and ran over Percy and disappear at the same moment Percy fell. The whole street was silent. Everything had seemed to move slowly. The city seemed to hold its breath.

She looked at Percy and wiped the drop of blood that splattered her left cheek. Her mother screamed. And everything broke to chaos. Training kicked in, I took a drachma from my pocket (Where did that dome from?) and tossed it into the puddle to my left. It showed me Chiron. I told him what happened as fast as I could and he said he'd send some Apollo campers to the hospital right away.

"In the mean time, why don't you sit and rest. Who else is with you?"

"Nobody." I replied.

"Sit tight. I'll get someone to get you." Chiron seemed to be out of his mind too. He kept neighing while talking to me. He seemed to be worried too. I mean, who in the blazes would tell someone who just witnessed a hit-and-run to sit tight?

He must have also forgotten that I am a demigod and that my ADHD wouldn't let me just sit tight.

I saw the same shimmering pink figure escaping by a side door. Immediately, I ran toward it and caught it just before it floated too high up. We fell and I rolled. The shimmered for a moment and reshaped into a woman resembling a supermodel I had once idolized. There could be no doubt who was this person. Aphrodite.

"Hello, Annabeth dear." The L-goddess had managed to land without falling.

"Screw you!" I spat. I scrambled up and tackeled her to the ground. She disappeared and reappeared somewhere to my right. I lunged with my knife and managed to graze her arm.

"What a fleetingly fast warrior. No doubt you deserve that knife." She told me, healing her wound.

"What did you do? WHY?" I had to vent my anger at someone or something.

There was silence as I breathed hard. "Why did you kill Percy?"

"I didn't kill him!" her eyes were hysterical.

"LIAR!" I lunged again. She ducked and went to see the commotion at my back. When she turned back, her eyes were tearful.

"He's dead?" and she shimmered away. I didn't even bother trying to stop her.

Tyson and Grover had found me on the same spot a few hours later in the middle of the pouring rain.

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Yup, I'll be elongating the story as far as possible.

Note: **PPLLEEAASSEE!** Review the story! At least show some support so I can get some inspiration to work. Please?

Flames are tolerated and will be used to bake delicious pancakes, and pizza.

See you around :)


	5. A Thing Or Two You Could Learn

Hey guise, I'm back! I got my lappy now and is no longer blocked:DD Life's good :)

So, as coming back gift to y'all. Here's a chapter : Hope you enjoy! :)

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**Chapter V: A Thing Or Two You Could Learn**

Some things just never change. Take Aphrodite, for example. She is always beautiful. Changing her appearance to suit whatever your definition of beauty is. However, there were some things that bothered her royal beauty-ness. It was perhaps the fact that she was hanging upside down her ceiling in godly bonds. Or maybe it was the fact that her mansion was trashed. No matter where she looked, there was no beauty. Yet this did not bother her. No, sire, it did not. She was still beautiful, and, even though she was trapped-hopelessly trapped, mind you, she still looked beautiful. Yet even, through this all, there was something not right about Aphrodite. I mean, which person, even a deity, would be happy if she was hanging upside down on her own ceiling just because she was pretty? Let's face the facts guise, Aphrodite's gone mad, but how? How exactly do you make a goddess mad?

~o~

Let's back track to the time after the temple scene.

RECAP: Percy, bruised and battered, had just escaped the clutches of a certain DOM King of the Gods. He trips and lands on someone's chest. Luckily for him, the chest belonged to an ally.

"Lord Hermes! I-I'm sorry, I-" he stutters.

"Don't be. I am alright. Why were you running and where did you get those bruises?" he asks with concern evident in his eyes. (The pure, cousin concern, not the dirty one :)

"I was escaping from your father. He wanted to violate my sanctity."(Gosh. So deep ) )

"What do you mea-" he begins to ask but they are interrupted by crashing noise and the huge door came flying out of nowhere heading straight to Percy. Quickly thinking, Hermes shields Percy with his own back.

"There you are Percy! Why have you gone?" the Z-god said whilst clutching his balls.

"Now I see. No need to explain Percy. But I have something to show you." And he force-feeds to Percy the event in Aphrodite's house.

"WHAT! How dare that woman-"Percy began.

"You do not have time. You must leave and he sends Percy away." Hermes turns in time to see his Zeus blast him with a single, powerful thunderbolt. He lands somewhere in China.

Now we see the scene that Annabeth witnessed: Percy's apparent death. However, one thing is still not clear to us. How exactly did it all start?

Let's delve deeper into the past and discover what had transpired.

*Enter shimmering edges & colored flashback mode* :

It all began in the Library of Congress, as all nerdy love stories do. However, this love story, in particular was not really that nerdy, perhaps it was on one side but it was love nevertheless.

Athena was alone rememorizing the entire American Constitution when a certain monster appeared. Arachne was out again and wanted revenge for the nth time. Easily evading her attacks, Athena continues to memorize that is until a gust of wind breaks her concentration and she falls prey to one of Arachne's web attacks.

"Finally! After so many years, I have gotten the best of you!" the villain laughs.

Athena herself was not worried; she knew that even if she did die, she'd only return to exact an even greater revenge. What was scary was that fading business. Brr. Nope. Not talking about it. However, if she did die, it would take a couple of short decades to go back. It's not easy restoring your presence you know, but then again, she, as a goddess, could let her presence in multiple places. But that didn't mean that she couldn't be captured. In fact, it was even more dangerous because there were many chances for her to be captured. So she only let her presence in different places only when needed. In short, all her presence as of this moment was caught in Arachne's web. And she could die physically. She shuddered to think what would happen to the world when she was gone. She remembered the time during the heat wave in the late part of the 20th Century. Artemis had accidentally been captured and killed by pirates allowing Apollo full reign, thus the heat and the colorful kaleidoscopic world.

Just as Arachne was about to strike, a blade, made of Celestial Bronze, sprouted on her chest and the spider villain turned into dust.

The hero was apparently Perseus Jackson. His dark locks gleaming in the light, he frees Athena from the web.

"Thank you, young man." She said politely.

"You're welcome, Lady Athena." He replies.

"What are you doing in this secluded part of the Library of Congress?"

"We were on a field trip and I felt a monstrous presence nearby. I went to check and found you."

"I see. Carry on with your field trip then."

"Actually, I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while."

"You are lost, in short." She smiles.

"Okay, am I THAT transparent?"

"No. I only deduced it from your eyes. Kinesics, if you must."

"Oh. Mind teaching me that?"

"My daughter can teach you that. Now just follow the trail of glowing books there and you can find your classmates."

"Can't I stay here for a moment? I find my teacher boring."

"That is not good. Remember, young man, a teacher is a teacher, no matter how boring. They do their best to teach you the knowledge they have. The best thing you could do for their sacrifice is to repay it by giving effort to learn what they teach." She reprimanded him.

Percy wasn't really in a mood for a scolding. So, instead he kept on asking questions. Until he realized that it was time for them to leave.

"Wait a minute, you have tricked me young man. You were supposed to go back two hours ago. Shoo. Go." Athena disappears in a puff of yellow smoke.

This routine went on. Percy would go to a library. And uncannily, he would always pick the one where Athena was. And they would argue, debate, or simply talk to each other. It wasn't long when Percy fell for this wise goddess, finding that she was also capable of humor, albeit in an intellectual manner. He wasn't cheating on Annabeth, mind you. He and Annabeth had an agreement that they would test themselves and be far apart from each other. Apparently, Percy had failed by falling for Athena and so had Annabeth(that's another story).

On Athena's part, this was all new. She had experienced a different kind of love before, which was intellectual love. However, this was different. She felt light whenever she was with him. She felt as if she was entirely different person: one that could relate to Percy. She finds that this young man was not all fight and fury or water and weary. He was also intelligent and very clever, especially when it came to their debates. So, you see, it was not hard for them to fall in love with each other. But how does a chaste goddess fall in love? Probably because it all began in the Library of Congress: the American equivalent of the place where she made her vow of chastity, thus it was where her vow was weakest and apparently, it was enough for the force of Eros to worm its way into her secluded heart.

It was not long before they confessed their love for each other. They were together and were very happy. It was not a secret, as well. For, everyone connected to the Olympus Channel seemed to know. Many disagreed. Some were happy for them including Percy's parents. Others were neutral, preferring to keep their own opinions to themselves. Annabeth was heartbroken but soon, she understood what Percy wanted to tell her. Yet, her love was still there. That much, the three of them knew.

One day, Percy suddenly thinking about his own mortality and that he could never bear to be far away from Athena. He went to the gods without telling Athena and pleaded for them to grant him immortality. Initially, they refused but, Percy, making offerings to them day and night could not be denied his request, especially when his father was one of the Big Three and that he was the Savior of Olympus. However, the gods had but one condition. He would work as a servant to the whole of Olympus for five years without contact with Athena. He agreed readily and it began. This is why Athena was alone and felt forgotten.

~o~

*End flashback mode*

*Jump to present time*

Somewhere deep under the ocean, a certain sea-green eyed demigod awakes.

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So, was that nice? I hoped you liked it :)

Read&Review. Flames will be tolerated and used to bake delicious pizza and brownies, especially brownies :)

More chapters to come! Peace out :P


	6. A Moment of Silence, A Glimmer of Hope?

Heyo! I'm back and here's a new chapter! Without further ado, enjoy! :D

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A heart-broken goddess was a danger to all. Most especially, herself. If she had lost all will and reason to live, she was in danger of fading away. This was the main reason why it was not encouraged to for the immortals to fall in love with humans. And mainly because, if you were an immortal, it would suck for you to fall for someone who would fade away with time. True, you could just go to the Underworld and bargain with Hades, but Hades isn't really the bargaining type, especially if it concerns his realm. Also, even if you managed such a miraculous feat, they wouldn't truly come back to life as their physical bodies have perished and become a feast for worms. They'd still suffer the rest of their ghostly lives and you wouldn't want that, would you?

Or you can fall in love and fade. As was the case with a certain Wise Goddess. She was, in fact, prepared to meet her end because she thought she wasn't good enough. Her beloved had left her without a word for five years. That's how despicable he found her. If she was not good enough for a single person, how would she be good enough for anyone else? She knew these thoughts were pointless as she had survived the ages. However this was the first time she was truly in love with all her being and the relationship was a failure. She no longer had much reason to live. The funny thing was, she had always scoffed when she read novels that contained heartbreak; she was too proud and thought that it would never happen to her. And look at her now, experiencing the very same thing she scoffed at. She was willing to fade now, the consequences didn't matter, her beloved was no longer with her.

Her vision begins to darken. She says a faint light of pink somewhere, but doesn't care. All she wants now is to end this suffering once and for all. But it doesn't happen. Instead, she feels a strong vice-like grip on her arm and she slowly regains her vision. When it clears, she sees a certain person she had despised all along: the Goddess of Love.

Suddenly all the wrath that she had kept from within burst forth and temporarily gave her back her powers and she lunged at the woman in front of her.

"Youuuuuuuuuu!" Athena growled.

"Now, now. That's not a nice way to greet your aunt isn't it?" Aphrodite dodged the attack.

"Why did you have to do that?! Huh?! WHY?!" A roundhouse kick.

"I'm not here for that."  
"Then, what the hell are you here for?!" she spat.

"Why don't you look out the window?"

Slightly taken aback, the Wise Goddess looked and saw her daughter leaning on a wall on the opposite side of the street.

"What is she-" she asked dazedly but the Wicked Witch was gone leaving only a puff of pink smoke.

She looked at the window again and this time couldn't look away.

Percy had appeared out of nowhere. So had a white Hummer. And it ran over Percy. She vaguely remembered screaming twice. But it didn't matter, no one could survive that kind of hit, and look at the amount of blood. She screamed again. No one heard her or everyone heard her. The blood splattered, it didn't. The wind was blowing, it wasn't. Music was playing from the radio, it was turned off. The centuries of knowledge had finally begun to weigh down on her mind and it seemed like she was going to lose her sanity.

A flash of sunlight and she was in a meadow. She was where their first official meeting (A/N: also called a date) had taken place. Everything was perfect. They just finished having lunch under the large oak tree and were now lying together beside each other. Percy was fast asleep and Athena was counting the number of breaths he took.

A cloud covered the sun and she was in Percy's home celebrating Thanksgiving with Percy's family. She was sitting on the couch Percy's arm around her like that cliché lovers-sitting-on-the-couch-with-their-heads-together-facing-the-fire thing. They were talking about everything and nothing. They were whispering to each other. They were silent simply enjoying each other's company.

It had started to rain. She was cuddling with Percy on the bed, sharing their warmth in such a cold night.

She vaguely remembered seeing people crowd around Percy's body. Or seeing her daughter run across the street. Or hearing an ambulance somewhere. In fact, she vaguely remembered anything at all.

Now she was here, in a white room with only one door and several cameras of Apollo's. But she wasn't at all. She was at her temple seeing Poseidon disgrace Medusa underneath her very statue. She remembers turning Arachne into a spider. She remembers everything and nothing. She was living her worst nightmares all over again and yet she never moved from one spot.

~O~

"Annabeth?" Grover said.

"Huh?" she replied.

"Did you catch whoever did this?"

"No."

"Let's go, then. You're soaking wet." he sighs.

"I-" she started to say.

"Grover!" one of the Apollo campers shouted.

"What?!"

"Percy's not here anymore. But we found someone. You better come here."

They all hurried to him and looked at the window where he was pointing.

"Mom!" Annabeth immediately ran inside the building.

"Mother? Are you okay? Did-did you see what happened? Did you see who did this?" she asked in a shaky voice. Her mother only stared at her blankly.

"We better take her back with us to camp. She doesn't seem well," said the Apollo camper.

"So, this is where she's been the past years. I'm surprised she's still alive. What, with all the stupidity happening."

"Don't you dare say that about my mother like it's nothing," Annabeth said with a ferocity not seen before.

"Okay, okay, I take that back. Chill," Grover replied, unnerved.

"Shouldn't you be worrying about Percy?" she said.

"I would but I don't know where he is, do you? And shouldn't you be worrying too?"

Annabeth clenched her teeth. "I don't know where he is. I thought you guys took him."

"Only the police were there when we arrived."

Silence.

"Let's take my mom back to camp and ask Lord Apollo to take a look at her."

At camp.

"Hmmm. She seems to be in a state of shock, but a rather unusual one. She's trapped within her own memories. Perhaps something has happened that caused this?" No one answered him.

"Can you do anything about it?" Annabeth asked.

"No can do, sorry. If she's locked herself from the inside, I can't do anything from the outside. If we could find the cause of this or someone who could get through to her even in this state, I might be able to do something."

"Then we have to find Percy soon." Chiron said.

"What if Percy's actually dea-" the Apollo camper began.

"NO," they said and looked at him in unison.

Suddenly there was a flash of bright light and Athena and Apollo disappeared. Apollo reappeared a few moments later.

"What happened? Where's my mother?"

"I took her to a safe place. I sesnsed a power surge to her and realized she was going to transform into her true form. I took her away at the last minute. She could be suffering through a traumatic memory right now and her physical response would be to revert to her true form. Because of that she's a danger to everyone so I took her away but don't worry she's safe. However, we have to find Percy soon, if he is the only one able to get through to her in this condition." Apollo explained.

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"The longer your mother stays in that state the smaller our chance of healing her gets. We need Percy and we need him soon."

Chiron sighed.

~O~

"So you're finally awake, huh?"

"Dad? Is that you? Where am I?"

"You're at home, Perseus, you're at home.

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A/N: So there it is! I've the ending already planned out but it's still far and the only thing I'll tell you is that the ending will make a mark on you. : I made this coz we recently finished our exams and it's been a really long time since I last posted an update. I earned the right to enjoy my weekends, you know :)

Thanks for all the support so far. It really means a lot to me. And continue supporting PJO! :D

Again, PLEASE R&R. Flames will be tolerated to bake some caek.

See ya!


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